


Touched

by gayunclejake



Category: The Sisters Grimm - Michael Buckley
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26017300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayunclejake/pseuds/gayunclejake
Summary: Jake and Charming have a serious chat about Jake's dependence on magic.
Relationships: Jacob Grimm/Prince Charming (The Sisters Grimm)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Touched

Usually, he was chauffeured around in his limousine, but when William Charming wanted to keep a low-profile (which was not very often at all), he drove a black 2009 Phantom. This car wouldn’t be most people’s choice for a low-profile car but Charming liked to make a scene, even on his most low-profile days. 

Today was one of those days. His ultra-luxury sedan rolled down that winding road that led to the Grimm house; in the leather seat next to him was a sweatshirt that Jake let him borrow one evening and that he was now returning after washing, steaming, and neatly folding it. It was 9, which was early for Jake, so Charming hoped he wouldn’t mind being woken up.

Charming’s mansion was a bit of a drive away and he wasn’t the best driver, but he made it after only a handful of jumped curbs and after running only one stop sign. He parked on the driveway next to Jake’s jalopy (which Jake affectionately referred to as ‘the lovely Ms. Genevieve’), carefully hung the sweatshirt over his arm and then slid out of his car. He'd been to the Grimm house plenty of times by now and came regularly, but still every time he stood outside of it and looked up at the odd little house on top of the odd little hill, he had to take a moment. If you focused, you could feel the magic in the air emanating from the enchanted wood; it looked deceptively small and old and had two big windows on the face of the building which looked down on Charming like judgmental eyes.

He blinked at the old building a few times, shook his head and then made his way to the door. He knocked, and all was quiet. He knocked again and this time heard a quiet groan, followed by a few footsteps, and then the gears of the old locks begin to turn and click. The door opened, and then stopped very abruptly. Jake had forgotten to unbolt the chain.

“Oh, you gotta be...” Jake trailed off as he shut the door, and then opened it again- this time, all the way. He had bags under his eyes, which remained half-lidded, but as they landed on Charming’s face, he smiled warmly. “Hey Billy,” he greeted, “What's up?”

Charming didn’t answer yet. While he was wearing a slim, casual suit; he noticed Jake was wearing a pair of printed shorts and a shirt with holes and stains as if it had been worn by a bear before Jake got his hands on it. Charming knew this is what Jake slept in; coat and all.

“Um… hello, Jacob," he greeted. "I brought your sweatshirt."

Jake reached out and took it. "It looks so smooth," he said, holding it out in front of him. "Did you iron it?"

Charming scoffed. "Iron a cotton-polyester blend printed sweatshirt? No. No, I steamed it."

Jake smiled again. He loved when Charming had these little sarcastic quips. "Oh, how silly of me," he chuckled, tossing the sweatshirt onto the coat rack. "Do you want to come in?" He stepped back, and Charming walked inside.

Charming looked around at the living room. It was a huge room, but the books made it feel cluttered and small. The pictures on the walls were nice, but it made Charming sad to look around and see photos of all the Grimm's he'd ever known- except for Jake. He recognized Wilhelm, Spaulding, Josef, all the way down to Henry's girls. But the only time he saw Jake was when he turned around and looked at the man standing behind him.

As Charming watched him, Jake yawned and stretched his arms over his head. Charming asked him, "Did I wake you?"

Jake nodded. "No biggie," he explained, "I was just taking a nap. Woke up early to drive the girls to school and drop mom and Canis off downtown. I need my beauty sleep, you know."

"Yes, I know," Charming teased, and then he paused. "Jake… do you ever take that coat off?"

"Well… yeah, when I shower," he said. "But I usually leave some of these things on." Jake held his hand up to show Charming the rings.

"Why?"

Jake stared at Charming, without speaking. "Huh?"

"Why don't you take it off? It probably smells."

"You probably smell," Jake said defensively.

"We both know I smell like Beekman 1802 Honey and Orange Blossom," Charming challenged, and Jake looked down at his feet.

"Yeah… I know you do," he said, a little sheepish.

"Why don't you take your coat off, Jake?" Charming asked again, and Jake looked back up at him.

"Well… I might need one of these," he said, gesturing to all of the pockets. "I can't take it off."

"You don't need them all the time, do you?"

Jake looked a little nervous. He grabbed the inside hem of his coat and pulled it around him. "Well… I don't know. I might."

Charming noticed him becoming nervous, and that made him worried. He spoke with a gentler tone. "Jake… Are you…” he bit his lip. “You know. Touched?”

“What? No!” Jake answered, immediately. “What… what makes you think that?” He grinned a nervous, unnatural grin, like the grin that a guilty dog would have.

“Why are you always wearing that jacket, then?” Charming asked softly. Jake didn’t answer. “Darling?”

Jake looked up. “I… I’m just… I just want to be ready in case something happens. When I wear the coat I just… I feel like I can protect anyone from anything,” he said, “I feel strong. Powerful.”

Charming was pretty old. He’d been alive a long time, he’d seen a lot of people who were ‘touched’, and from them he’d heard those exact words a dozen times before. “Jake, you can handle things on your own. Just as Jake."

“I have to protect my family,” Jake stated. “I don’t know what the bad guys are going to have, but I know when I have my coat, that I… I’ll be ready for it.”

Charming frowned. He knew it was a valid concern. He wished it wasn't, he wished he could say it wasn't, but they were Grimms in a town of Grimm-hating magic users. However, although it was dangerous for them, Charming knew from decades of Grimms that they were all very clever and capable.

"You don't have to be a hero, Jake. Your family are all very smart. They can take care of themselves," he said.

"I… it's just- you don't…" Jake stuttered, and then trailed off. "... If something happened to someone. And I could've done something - if something happened to the girls, I…" He trailed off again, this time stopping to hold his head in his hands. He stumbled backwards and fell onto the couch. "If something happened to the girls, and I could've protected them, or stopped it…"

Charming sat with him in silence before he put a hand on Jake's knee. “Sabrina is very crafty. She’s very smart. She can keep herself and her sister safe, just like she did when they were in foster care.”

Jake didn’t show Charming his face, but Charming could tell he was turning red, as if he were crying. “My dad-” he started, but stopped quickly. “Nevermind. Sorry.”

“Go ahead,” Charming said, encouraging Jake with a gentle squeeze of his knee. Jake was quiet again, and now for a long time. Charming absentmindedly rubbed little circles into Jake’s knee with the side of his thumb.

Finally, Jake looked up. His eyes were red but he wasn’t crying, at least not anymore. He turned to Charming and they locked eyes.

“I was 16 when he died. I… It all happened so quickly. I remember watching him, and I…” He looked away again, at his hands, which sat open in his lap. “I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do. Nothing…” He clenched his hands in tight, white-knuckled fists. “I don’t ever want to feel like that again. I don’t ever want to watch someone I love die. I was helpless.”

Charming didn’t know what to say. He moved his hand from Jake’s knee to Jake’s clenched fist, and tried to loosen it up. Jake unclenched one fist and let Charming’s fingers slip around his hand, but he didn’t look up.

“Jake… you know your father loved you. Don’t you?” he asked, in a voice so soft it was barely audible. Jake looked at him from the corners of two wide, attentive eyes. But he didn’t speak, so Charming continued. “He loved you. All the way up until the end of his life. And your family loves you, too. I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to feel this way… You know, with all this weight on your shoulders, as if you’re responsible for them. Right?”

Jake looked away. Charming could see his eyes begin to water, and he moved to cover his face again, but Charming reached out and held tight to both of Jake’s hands. “Right?” he repeated.

“I… I don’t know,” Jake answered, meekly.

“Well… I love you,” Charming stated. “And I wouldn’t want you to feel that way about me.” Jake finally turned to face Charming again.  
“You mean that?” he asked.

“Yes. I do.”

“I… love you too,” Jake said sheepishly. He smiled again, a warmer and more natural smile, albeit a very small and sheepish one; and then he leaned forward to leave a little kiss on Charming’s cheek.

"How about we try sleeping with the jacket off tonight?" Charming asked patiently. Jake nodded, and the color began to return to his face.

"Yeah. I can do that," Jake said. "I'll even leave it off while you make me breakfast."

Charming huffed. "Fine," he said, standing up and brushing himself off. "But you're going to have to eat fruit today."

Jake laughed tiredly. "I'll try," he groaned. Charming rolled his eyes at Jake before he started toward the kitchen.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I posted this a while ago on Tumblr but wanted to put it here to christen my new AO3, lol. Sorry if the formatting is weird I have to use a lot of spaces cause I am dyslexia


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